


Life is a lesson, too bad it takes so long to learn

by ImaWriterandaFangirl



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: AU, Canon-Typical Violence, Colin is one of their students, Colin is precious, F/F, F/M, Human!kori, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Teacher!Kori, Teacher!Roy, because Jason Todd, but they are, cursing, teacher!Jason, they aren't heroes, they're the childrens heroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2019-10-04 09:58:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 14,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17302511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaWriterandaFangirl/pseuds/ImaWriterandaFangirl
Summary: Jason Todd has lived on the streets of Gotham his whole life. He’s seen things, heard things, and been through things no one else could even imagine. Given that, he’s still a good person. He and his two friends did something most street rats couldn’t even imagine: they graduated college (hell, even just going to school was an accomplishment.) Now they run a school in Lower Gotham for the kids on the street. It’s too bad that as of late some local vigilantes have taken an interest in the school. Chaos, friendship, danger, and Romance insue.





	1. Meeting Roy and Kori

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work on AO3. It's probably going to be very cringy in the beginning, but if you stick with it it'll get better (hopefully.) That being said the first chapter is kinda short so sorry.

Jason had been living on the streets since his mother overdosed, which was a little over a year ago. He thought he’d seen everything, but seeing a high 13-year-old proved him wrong. 

Jason’s instincts told him to walk away. This wasn’t his problem but… He sighed and walked up to the kid.

“Ya look terrible.”Jason said, his Gotham accent thick, “Let’s get ya outta here, yeah?”

The red-head looked up at him, green eyes blown wide. It reminded Jason of the times he had to take care of his mom when she was too out of it to do a thing.

Jason wasn’t going to get a verbal response and he knew it, so he just hauled the other boy to his feet and started dragging him to the abandoned warehouse Jason was staying in.

“Roy, ‘m Roy Harper,” was muttered after a while.

Jason grinned, a name was something at least. “Nice to meet ya Harper. I’m Jason Todd.”

~~~

Jason and Roy had been partners in crime for about 4 months when they stumbled across a girl in an ally. She had very long, wavy fiery hair which looked well cared for, but her jeans and dark purple tank top were torn and bloody.

“We should help her,” Roy mumbled to Jason, who shot him a look.

“That’s how ya end up in a ditch somewhere Harper,” Jason said.

“Jason, look at her, she needs help.” Roy argued.

Jason took another glance at the girl and had to admit the older boy had a point. Finally Jason sighed, “Fine,”

The two approached the girl cautiously.

“Hey, you need some help?” Roy called out and the girl whirled around.

Jason was surprised by how bright her eyes were. The green of them practically glowed in the dim light of the main street lamp.

“Leave me alone!” The girl snapped, and Jason could tell she was a foreigner by her accent.

“We’re not gonna hurt ya.” Jason said, holding his hands up to show that he held no weapons. Of course he did have a knife tucked into his boot, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her (at least, not yet).

"That is what the other men said,” the girl glared, “before my sister sold me to the highest bidder.”

Jason and Roy both froze, realizing what she meant. They had both seen victims of human trafficking before.

“We won’t do that. We ain’t like those bastards.” Jason said with a scowl. “Look, you don’t need to accept our help, but if you need a place to hide from those guys then you’re welcome to crash with us.” Jason hated it when people messed with women and kids.

The girl leveled them with a judging look before nodding. “That would be appreciated. Thank you, my name is Koriand’r.”

Jason nodded in acknowledgement, then turned around and motioned for Roy and Koriand’r to follow.

“His name is Jason Todd. I’m Roy Harper,” Jason heard Roy say.

“Don’t go around telling people who I am Harper!” Jason snapped.

“Come on Jaybird, it’s fine, I know we can trust her. Call it a gut feeling.” Roy said.

Jason scowled, “Yeah, well then tell her who you are and leave me out of it.”

He didn’t say anything more that night, leaving to go hunt for food as soon as they got back to the abandoned warehouse that Jason, Roy, and now Koriand’r were staying in. 

It seemed he had another mouth to feed.


	2. Spreading The News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some time has passed, and the outlaws are back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For now I'm going to try and update every friday, but I make no promises for how long that will last. Also, It's pretty short again.

Jason grinned as he stared up at the newly built school. They had done it.

Roy and Kori stood on either side of him as they looked at the school that they had worked so hard to have built.

They’d been planning for this ever since Jason had convinced (blackmailed) a principal to let them go to his school.

The plan had always been that when they got to college they’d each go into different teaching fields so they could run a school for kids who couldn’t afford to go to other schools. And that’s what happened. They’d even made some friends who were willing to work with them for minimum wage (they were going to have to find a lot of odd jobs at night to keep the school running and pay them.)

“I guess we should go spread the word,” Roy said finally.

Jason nodded, “Yeah, Kori, you take the lower area of Crime Ally, Roy, you take the upper part, and I’ll take the center.”

Kori and Roy both nodded, saying a quick, “Be careful,” before leaving.

Jason walked through Crime Ally with his hands in his jeans, he had his fingers curled around his pocket knife just in case. He spotted a group of teens that definitely lived on the streets. Approaching them cautiously, Jason planned what he’d say. You always have to be careful when talking to street kids because you never know what might trigger a bad memory.

Jason also decided it would be best if he let his accent slip back in so they knew he was one of them. 

“Oi,” He said getting their attention.

“Whadda ya want?” A girl with tangled red hair and silver eyes asked as she eyed him skeptically.

“There’s some news on the streets I thought ya ‘ought to know.” Jason replied.

The girl was less tense now, the spread of news was a common reason for a stranger to approach you when you lived on the streets. “What is it?” She asked.

“My crew and I are opening a school for the street kids. All ages ‘til college.” Jason told them, “We open it on monday. Spread the news,”

The girl and her friends exchanged looks before she nodded. “Sure, an’ thanks. It ain’t often someone helps us.”

Jason nodded, knowing that to be the truth.

He did this for another hour or two before heading back to the school (which had yet to be named.) Kori and Roy were there waiting for him when he arrived.

“Neither of us had much luck. What about you Jason?” Kori asked.

“I think I made some decent progress.” Jason told her as he ran a hand through his hair.

Roy nodded, trying not to look at the pure white streak in Jason’s bangs, his hair was otherwise pitch black. It was hard not to stare at it, but Roy was used to it by now and knew it was one of Jason’s many triggers.

Jason’s teal eyes slid over to the building again. “Can you guys actually believe we did it?” He asked Kori and Roy.

Roy grinned, “I know. We did the impossible for people like us.”

“And now we are giving others the same opportunity we had.” Kori added.

Jason nodded, then glanced at the cheap Batman watch he wore. “Shit! I’m gonna be late for work!” He turned on his heal and ran there.

He had a feeling this wouldn’t be the only time he was rushing somewhere.


	3. Investigations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3 wild Robins appear

Dick Grayson headed down to the Batcave as night fell on Gotham. Damian and Tim were already down there, and Dick knew Bruce wouldn’t be far behind him.

“Hey Dami, Timmy!” Dick greeted energetically.

“-tt-, hello Grayson.” Damian responded.

“Hi Dick,” Tim said absentmindedly, not moving his gaze away from the computer screen.

It was rare that all three Robins were in the same area, what with Tim leaving to lead the Titans. It was even rarer for Tim and Damian to not be fighting. But here they were, three brothers not fighting.

“What are you looking at Timmy?” Dick asked, moving over to Tim’s side.

“I just… something Black Mask did recently. It doesn’t make sense.” Tim answered, his eyebrows furrowed, showing how truly perplexed he was by the villain.

Dick patted Tim’s head, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out Babybird.”

“Boys,” A voice said and Dick turned to find Bruce already in his Batman suit, “Get suited up. I have an important mission for you.” he said.

Dick mock saluted before grabbing his Nightwing suit and heading to the changing room. Tim and Damian were close behind him.

~~~

An hour or so later Dick, Tim, and Damian were tailing a teen as he walked down the deserted streets of Crime Alley. Apparently he was a member of a gang in a brewing gang war. B wanted them to follow him to his gang’s hideout.

The two ex-Robins and current Robin followed the teen until he entered a building that looked relatively new.

“You guys know what that place is?” Dick asked over the comm link.

“It’s that Black Mask place I was telling you about.” Tim answered.

Dick eyed the place. It didn’t look too shady and there weren’t any guards (not to mention B hadn’t mentioned Black Mask) but they would be careful just in case.

“Alright, we’ll wait for awhile then go in to investigate. Work two cases at once I guess.” Dick told Damian and Tim.

~~~ 

After an hour and a half a bunch of teens and some kids came streaming out.

“I think it’s clear now. We should go see what’s up.” Tim said.

“You think, Drake?” Damian asked, his tone condescending.

Dick sighed, “Please don’t fight right now. Let’s just head in.” He didn’t wait for either of them to reply and fired his grappling hook to the building.

He crashed through a window on the second floor. Dick could now hear the pounding of footsteps coming toward him. His hands flew to his escrima sticks as Tim and Damian landed beside him.

The door burst open and there stood a man with black hair and a white streak. His teal eyes were harsh and had flecks of green in them. His gaze was intense as he pointed twin pistols at the three vigilantes. 

Dick’s older brother mode kicked in and he moved in front of his little brothers. Logically, he knew they were wearing kevlar, but that wouldn’t do any good if this guy had armor piercing bullets.

“Jay!” A voice yelled and seconds later a male with long red hair entered the room. He froze for a moment when he saw the vigilantes. Then he put a hand on the other man’s arm and tried to lower it. “Jason, why don’t we put the guns down, yeah?”

The man glared at the redhead. “Why should I Roy?”

“Maybe because they’re vigilantes and I don’t feel like getting arrested Jaybird.” The redhead -Roy- said sarcastically.

“If anything,” The other man - Jason? - said, “They should be the ones getting arrested. After all, I do believe this is breaking and entering. We haven’t even done anything wrong!”

“Well you are pointing a gun at us.” Tim pointed out. Dick wished he’d kept his mouth shut because now Jason’s sharp gaze turned toward him, and so did one of the guns.

“Jason, at least let them speak.” A voice from the door spoke. Dick would have jumped if he hadn’t been trained by the bat. Bruce would be so disappointed if he knew that Dick had failed to noticed the red haired girl’s arrival.

“Alright fine,” Jason lowered the gun, shocking all three vigilantes in the room. “So why are Robin, Red Robin, and Nightwing breaking into our school?” Jason asked.

“School?” Tim inquired.

“We are investigating a possible gang war. We followed a member of the O'Malley Gang here.” Robin informed, arms crossed over his chest.

“Oh, I see.” Jason said, “Well don’t worry, we aren’t part of any illegal gang activity.”

“You have guns,” Dick put in warily.

“That I have a license for.” Jason shot back.

“Your supposed ‘school’ was built by Black Mask.” Tim said, putting air quotes around the word school.

Roy sighed, “Maybe we should explain ourselves.”


	4. False Alarm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The councelor's office always works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm a day late. Also, sorry the format is a little different than usual, I'm using my phone instead of a computer right now.

The group of six moved to a different room on the first floor. It had chairs around a circular table which they sat at.

“Really Jay? The guidance counselor's office?” Roy asked with an amused smile.

Jason shrugged, “If it works with the students then why can’t it work with us?”

“What is this about a school?” Tim finally asked. At this point all he wanted was a straight answer to the question plaguing his mind.

“Kinda long story Red,” Jason replied, “We grew up on the streets. Had to do some illegal shit to survive, I’ll admit ta that. Found out some stuff on this headmaster at a prestigious school an’ blackmailed him into lettin’ us go there. ‘Lot a crime lords owed us favors, we used to do stuff for ‘em for money -- nothin’ too bad, stop lookin’ at me like that. We got Dent and Penguin ta pay college for us. Once we graduated, we used the only favor Black Mask owed us.”

“You had him build the school,” Tim realized.

Roy nodded, “Yeah, and we used favors with every gang in Gotham to make the school a safe zone of sorts. We even got Ivy, Catwoman, and Harley to agree to try and leave this place alone. Harley even said she’d try to keep…” he glanced at Jason, “ _ him  _ away.”

Tim wondered for a moment why he didn’t just say Joker, but he dismissed it as nothing.

"Whatever trouble is brewin’ in the streets we ain’t got nothin’ to do with it.” Jason said.

“You know, for someone who majored in english you have a bad habit of slipping back into your accent, Jaybird.” Roy teased.

"Shut it Harper!”

 " -Tt- you both act like children.” Damian scoffed, “Who in their right mind would let you be in charge of actual children? You’ll probably make them into criminals.”

"The streets do that on their own. You ever wonder where all your villains came from? They either didn’t have enough money, lived on the streets, or had a messed up past. All of which, we are trying to prevent.” Jason scowled. He glanced at a clock hanging above the door. “Look, Kori and I gotta get to work, but ya got Harper for another hour or so. Have fun and try not to wreck the place.”

With that he left, the red haired girl following.

“I thought you worked here,” Dick said his masked eyes narrowed and Tim looked at him. Even he hadn’t realized that right away.

Roy fixed him with a blank stare, “We have to pay for water, heat, plumbing, and electricity. Not to mention we have to pay the teachers and buy food for not only us but about 300 kids too. Not even the money we have from those jobs we mentioned is enough to cover it all, so we kinda have to get a lot of night jobs to keep up with everything.”

Dick looked slightly guilty about his silent accusation after hearing that.

“I find it hard to believe 300 kids live on the streets.” Damian said.

Roy shrugged, “I mean, some of the orphanages are sending kids since we don’t  _ make _ them pay. But half of our students live either on the streets or in poverty.”

Tim was about to say something when his comm buzzed. Sighing, he turned away and activated it.

“Tim, Tim, Tim! Kongothitwithliquidkryptoniteandweneedyourhelp!” The voice of Bart Allen said in one breath.

Tim’s eyes widened. He turned to his brother’s and said, “I gotta go. Titan’s emergency.” Not waiting for an answer he rushed out of the room and to his ducati. “I’m on my way.” He told Bart. He switched channels quickly and told Dick, “I vote on just making a truce with them. It’s not like they’re up to anything.”

“Roger that,”

Tim rolled his eyes and resisted making fun of his older brother. Now was not the time for jokes, he told himself, Kon was in danger.

 

~~~

 

Tim arrived at the tower soon after he left, due to zeta beams. After sweeping his leg over the side of his bike he took off running. However when he reached the living room he found the other titans sitting there, including Kon.

They were all fine.

“Hey Tim, sorry about worrying you. But we had to get you here.” Kon said.

Cassie sighed, “Bart and Kon decided that they wanted to marathon Wendy the Werewolf Hunter again.” She sounded annoyed but her face showed her fondness for the two.

Tim however, was not amused in the slightest (well, maybe a little, but he wouldn’t tell them that.) “I was in the middle of something important.” He told them, his voice neutral and face blank.

“Clearly not that important if you’re here.” Kon replied.

Tim scowled, “I have work to do,” He turned on his heel to walk away, but the sudden movement made him dizzy. It seemed the past week was catching up to him.

Cassie grabbed his arm to balance him and made him sit down on the couch next to Kon. “You need to rest Tim. Only the gods know how hard you’ve been working. This marathon is just what you need.” She said sternly.

Tim sighed but knew better than to argue, and secretly he didn’t want to. “Fine,” he huffed.

And if he fell asleep during the marathon while leaning into Kon’s inhuman warmth, well, no one said a thing.


	5. Abuse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title is not what you think it is. Robin and a friend run into some trouble and end up at the school.

It had been a month since the vigilantes had come calling and Jason hadn’t seen them since, which was good. He didn’t need the trouble they were sure to bring.

Too bad the peace couldn’t last, because here was Abuse carrying an unconscious and injured Robin into his school.

“Please, help him,” The gruff, trench coat wearing hero pleaded.

Jason wanted to say no, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Robin was a kid, a crime fighting, bratty kid, but still a kid.

Jason sighed, Roy and Kori were at work and the nurse - who was technically a doctor - had gone home for the night. He’d have to do this himself.

He moved aside and took the two to the infirmary, a small room with four cots lining the walls and a desk in the back corner. Jason had Abuse lay Robin on one of the beds.

“Hey, can you get the first aid kit? It’s-”

“Behind Dr. Thompkins desk, I know Mr. Todd.”

Jason paused in trying to get Robin’s cape off and turned to the other hero. “How did you know who I am?” He questioned suspiciously. The other vigilante’s couldn’t have told him, they’d only heard his first name (though he supposed they could have done some digging on him, Roy, and Kori.)

Abuse also paused, realizing his mistake. Luckily for him he was saved from answering by a pounding on the door. Jason shot him a look, letting him know he wouldn’t let the topic drop before leaving.

Jason yanked the door open, revealing two burly men. “Can I help you?” He asked, trying to sound innocent.

“Look, we’s got a vigilante problem on our hands.  You ain’t hidin’ ‘em are ya?” One mane asked.

Jason shook his head, “Nope. One of the conditions I had Red Hood set up to keep this place neutral was no business with batman an’ his crew. Why would I endanger my school by helpin’ them?”

Red Hood was the alias he used when he had to deal with the gangs so they wouldn’t know who he was. As far as they were concerned Jason Todd, Roy Harper, and Kori Anders were simply friends with Red Hood, Arsenal, and Starfire.

The men exchanged looks before nodding and walking away.

Jason let out a breath then went back to find the two heroes in the infirmary. Only to find one of his students there instead of Abuse.

“Colin?” He asked incredulously. Then something the kid had told him once came back to him. He’d been kidnapped  by Scarecrow who injected him with the Bane serum. “You’re Abuse.” He stated it rather than asking.

The red haired boy sighed and nodded.

Jason shook his head and exhaled, “Alright… ok, I… give me a second to get used to this.” - there was a pause - “Ok, so do the nuns know?” He jokingly asked.

Colin laughed, “If they did, they’d probably have heart attacks, Mr. Todd.”

“Kid, I’ve told you to drop the Mr. Todd and just call me Jason.” Jason said with a fond grin as he set to work helping Robin.

~~~

“I suppose our help was adequate,” A bandaged Robin said early in the morning as he, Abuse, and Jason stood on the roof.

Jason rolled his eyes, “Whatever kid, just get outta here.” He said it jokingly, but he was also worried about being spotted with the two.

“Thanks for your help,” Colin, now back in Abuse form, thanked him.

“Whatever. And Robin?”

The boy tilted his head slightly to show he was listening.

“Tell Nightwing he still owes us a window. It’s still broken from your visit last month.”

The boy’s lips tilted up slightly, “I suppose I can do that.” Then he and Abuse took  off into the city.

Jason sure did have a story for Roy and Kori (They were still working their jobs, and he just now realizes he missed all of his for the night.)

A week later the chemistry classroom’s window was fixed, a sticky note with the Nightwing insignia doodled on (blue colored pencil and everything) was stuck to it.

_ Heard you were in need  _

_ of a new window _

_ \- Nightwing _


	6. The O'Malley Gang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where OC's come in.

Erica Steel took her seat in english class. This was the one place where her threadbare, oversized sweatshirt, ripped, tight jeans, and bare feet didn’t make her felt ashamed. Because at this school, most people were like that, and the ones who weren’t knew better than to comment.

Erica’s tangled red hair was suddenly yanked violently and she whipped around, her silver eyes flashing dangerously.

“Hey,” A boy with messy dark hair and dirty clothes smirked at her.

Erica scowled, “What do you want James?”

“I’m just having some fun, Er.” He taunted.

Erica huffed and turned in her seat, opting to ignore the annoyance that sat behind her. The yanking didn’t stop though, and the more it continued the more irritated she became.

Thankfully she didn’t snap before Jason, the teacher, entered. James immediately stopped and class started and ended without a hitch,

~~~

Once school was over Erica was about to leave when Jason pulled her over.

“Can I help ya?” Erica asked. 

Jason thrust a box at her and she caught it on instinct. “Don’t lose ‘em,” He said before leaving.

Erica watched him for a moment then looked down at the box and opened it. She didn’t bother checking to see if it was a bomb, Jason had been the one to give it to her after all. She had long since stopped being suspicious of him. Jason had proved that he only wanted the best for those who were living on the streets.

In the box was a pair of black converses with white laces and a pair of socks. Erica smiled slightly and bent down to put them on. It felt weird to wear shoes after a year or two without them.

Once they were on Erica left the school. She was walking down the street when she heard some people talking.

“Mr. O'Malley ain’t happy with ya Jimmy.” A voice said.

Erica hesitated in her listening. The only O’Malley’s she knew of were the leaders of the infamous O’Malley gang.

“Look, I don’t want anythin’ ta do with ya anymore.” A voice replied. That was definitely James’s voice, so Erica totally had to listen. 

For blackmail purposes of course.

The conversation went on for a while, always coming back to James not wanting to be in the gang anymore.

The conversation continued like that for awhile, with the man making semi-empty threats and James refusing to join the O’Malley’s again.

Finally, the man seemed to have had enough. “Look Jimmy, ya keep this up, and you’ll find yerself in a ditch by the end o’ tonight.”

Erica was in the ally, with her pocket knife pressed to a burly man’s throat before she knew what she was doing. She could only see flashes of brown eyes and cold, limp figures. 

“Leave before I slit your throat. He said he wanted out, so let him leave,” She all but growled.

The man raised his arms in surrender, “Okay, okay. Calm down little lady.”

Erica released her hold and the man speed walked out of the ally. She gave James a quick glance to make sure he was alright then turned and walked away.

“This doesn’t mean I like you or makes us friends,” she called over her shoulder.

There was no tugging on her hair the next day.


	7. Here Begins Suffering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bruce condemns himself.

Dick Grayson could not stop thinking about the people he and his brothers had met at that school. How long ago had that been? It felt like only a day ago when really it must have been at least a month and a half by now.

He, Tim, and Damian had been taking turns patrolling the area near it just to make sure Jason, Roy, and Kori had been telling them the truth, After about 2 weeks they had decided it was clear, which was more so proven when Jason had helped Damian and Colin.

They still checked up on the place though, now more out of the want to make sure it was still okay and, as Damian put it, “We are now indebted to these people and we should end it before they call in a favor.”

Still, Dick hadn’t stopped thinking about what Roy had said about his silent accusation when Jason and Kori had left. 

**_“We have to pay for water, heat, plumbing, and electricity. Not to mention we have to pay the teachers and buy food for not only us but about 300 kids too. We kinda have to get a lot of night jobs to keep up with everything.”_ **

_ They were trying to do something good _ , Dick reasoned,  _ and they could use some help, they must get as little sleep as Bruce and Timmy do, if not less than Bruce. It’s my duty as a hero to help them out! _ At least that’s what he told himself as he went to knock on Bruce’s office door.

“Come in,” Bruce’s muffled voice said through the door.

Dick opened the door and stepped in, taking one of the black, leather seats in front of Bruce’s desk without needing to be asked.

“Can I help you Dick?” Bruce asked.

Dick opened his mouth and then shut it. He normally didn’t have this much trouble articulating what he wanted to say,but then again this was important so he had to approach the topic in the right manner so that the outcome was the one he wanted.

“So, you know that place that Timmy, Dami, and I found when you sent us out to follow that kid?” Dick asked.

Bruce nodded, because yes, they had told him about it - Dick just hadn’t mentioned the specifics of what it was, Dami could have cared less, and Timmy was handling some kind of crisis with the Titans.

“So, what it was was this school for kids on the street, living in poverty, and even kids from orphanages. And they don’t have a lot of money, so I was wondering if maybe Bruce Wayne could just happen to be in that part of town and see it and maybe start sending money there to help out?” Dick ended up spilling in a rush, and yeah, he definitely could have approached that in a better way; he knew he should have asked Tim to do this instead of doing it himself.

Bruce was quiet for a moment, then said, “I’ll think about it,” before returning to his paperwork.

Dick knew that that was the sign that it was time for him to leave but he felt glued to his seat. “B, please, isn’t this the kind of thing that we should be encouraging as heroes?”

Bruce sighed through his nose, “Dick, I said I’d think about it, now go.”

Dick bit his lip to stop himself from saying more and got up, quickly leaving the room.

As soon as the door closed Dick sighed. He knew Bruce said he would think about it, but he also knew that until he forced bruce to make a final decision it would keep getting buried under or pushed to the side for cases.

Perhaps you should enlist the help of your brothers and Master Colin, Master Richard.” A voice suggested and Dick jumped.

Turning, he found Alfred standing behind him.

Dick blinked, and then thought about what the all-knowing ninja butler had said. A slow grin spread across his face as he realized that yes, _that_ would make Bruce make up his mind sooner rather than later.


	8. On Board, But Don't Tell Dick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets aren't always good, but sometimes they're necessary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't my best chapter, sorry about that, Kon is kind of OOC. It's also kind of half filler and half not. If you want to skip this chapter you can go to the notes at the end and I'll put a brief summary there.

“No.”

“Please!”

“No, Dick, it won’t work, you honestly think we can annoy Bruce into saying yes?”

“Not annoy him into saying  _ yes _ , just annoy him into giving us an answer… and  _ hopefully  _ saying yes.” Dick corrected.

“You know Grayson will never leave you alone until you agree, Drake.” Damian said.

“And just what are you doing here, demon spawn? Dick, why’d you bring him to my apartment?” Tim asked, glaring at Damian.

Dick shrugged, “I promised to take him to the pet store if he helped me. Your apartment’s on the way so I figured I might as well do this too.”

Tim sighed, “There are so many reasons that this is going to end badly.”

“What, taking Dami to the store or my plan?”

“Both!” Tim cried, he was quickly getting tired of this conversation. “If I say I’ll help will you get out and let me work?”

“Yup.” Dick smiled his infuriating innocent smile, and Tim fought the urge to deck him in the face. He didn’t, that would only lead to more complaining in the long run and Tim just wanted some peace and quiet.

“Fine, just go away.” Tim said and he turned to grab his laptop and coffee and headed to his room. 

He heard some bickering from the living room and then the sound of a slamming door.

Tim sighed in relief and pulled up the files he’d been working on when Dick and Damian had barged in. He’d thought about telling the two about the case but had decided against it when he’d been told why they were there.

Any news about cases given to those two would inevitably make its way back to Bruce, and that was the last thing they needed if they were going to get Bruce to help the school.

At least this way Tim was the only one who had to hide something from B, and he’d always been the best out of all of them at lying to Batman.

Tim started to type a note into one of the files when his phone rang. He briefly glanced at the screen before deciding to ignore it.

A minute later the phone started pinging endlessly. Gritting his teeth, Tim reached for it and saw that they were all from Kon and Bart. Tim sighed and texted them the same thing:

**_Later._ **

Then he put his phone on mute to stop any further interruptions.

Tim had made it through 3 of the files before his security alarms started going off. Training took over and Tim was at his closet and clutching one of his collapsible bo staffs in an instant.

The door opened and Tim prepared to strike.

“Tim, we’d prefer not to die at your hands today! Sorry for tripping your alarms, you got an upgrade since last time.” A voice said right before Bart came into the room.

Tim relaxed and collapsed his staff. “Why are you guys here?” he asked, not doubting that Kon was right behind him.

“Is it a crime to want to hang out with you Tim?” Kon asked.

Tim rolled his eyes. “I told you I was busy, and I’m going to Titan’s Tower tomorrow.”

“You didn’t say you were busy, you said ‘later’ and now it’s later.” Kon supplied.

“Plus tomorrow is, like, forever away!” Bart added as he left the room, no doubt to raid Tim’s fridge (he’d be sorely disappointed, Tim didn’t think there was any real food in there.) 

“Wow, Tim, this looks pretty serious.” Kon said, “Is it serious? I don’t really know when it comes to Gotham.”

Tim turned to him and saw that Kon had found his way to Tim’s laptop. His eyes widened, “That’s… um…” nothing came to mind. Funny how that worked, he could lie to Batman but not his best friend and super secret crush.

Kon looked up, “Are you dealing with this by yourself?” upon Tim’s nod Kon’s brows furrowed. “Shouldn’t Batman or Nightwing be helping you with this?”

At that Tim panicked, “Conner, you  _ cannot  _ tell any bat about this, got it?” 

Kon blinked, “Tim, what’s going on, this is starting to worry me.” 

Tim sighed and dropped his head into his hands, this was such a mess. He felt the gentle warmth of TTK brushing against him and Tim looked up.

“Dick is trying to get B to do some Bruce Wayne related stuff in the center of the crime mess you’re looking at. He has some… personal business going on down there and he will never forgive me if something I’m dealing with messes things up. I can handle it by myself Kon, it’s fine.” Tim explained.

“You’re getting in your own head again Tim,” Kon said softly. “Dick wouldn’t hate you, the fact that you’re trying to help him by dealing with this by yourself is sweet and all but you can’t do things by yourself.”

“I have two things to say,” Bart declared as he entered, breaking the tension in the room, “the first is that, Tim, you need to eat something other than takeout soon, and the second is that if this is such a big deal why don’t we help him with whatever this big catastrophe is?”

Kon thought for a minute and then looked at Tim, asking for permission to help, but his eyes let Tim know that he’d help either way.

Tim sighed, “Fine, but nobody tells Dick, or anyone else, this stays between the three of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief summary: Tim is on board with Dick's plan, but is also keeping a secret regarding the area around the school because he knows Bruce will never agree to help Jason and the outlaws if he knows what's going on. Kon and Bart come over and force Tim to let them help.


	9. Not An Update (so sorry)

I'd like to apologize because sadly the next chapter is nowhere near finished, it's taking me a lot longer than usual to write it so it might be a while until I get it up. I'm not making any promises but I'd say it'll be a week and a half until I've finished it. I'm so sorry if I've disappointed you guys, I know I hate it when authors say they'll update consistently and don't even if I'm also understanding about it. Again, so sorry.


	10. Begging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly what the title says. Bruce realizes he made a mistake having as many kids as he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In order to make up for not posting last week I decided to make this a multi-p.o.v. chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Bruce knew his sons were up to something. It was easy to tell because Dick kept sending Damian and Tim looks. It also seemed that they’d roped Colin into helping them, if the red head’s attempts to act like normal despite fidgeting often were anything to go by.

He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but knowing his boys it probably wasn’t anything good. Not that Bruce could stop them; he could only brace himself for whatever damage they were going to cause.

~~~

Dick could tell how nervous everyone else was getting as time went on, and Bruce was definitely catching on, so he decided to initiate the plan. He cleared his throat, “So Colin, how’s school going?”

Colin squirmed again, “Um, it’s going good.”

Tim took this as his cue to add something, “Where do you go to school anyway?”

“Well, it technically doesn’t have a name, but I think some of the younger kids and my classmates have started to call it Outlaw Academy, probably because it sounds cool.” The last part was said in a murmur.

“I’ve never heard of it,” Stephanie piped up, she and Cass were on a break from the travels they’d been taking to avoid hero work for awhile. Their stay hadn’t been part of the plan but worked in Dick’s favor. They weren’t even in on it and were still managing to help.

“It is relatively new Brown, it was not around when you were in Gotham last.” Damian informed Stephanie.

“It must be hard for your teachers to run the school.” Dick said.

Colin looked down, “Yeah, some of the kids who live on the streets say that they see the three teachers who own the school running around town all night going to other jobs to make money.”

“Oh,” Steph said. “Well, Bruce could help with money, right?” She looked over at Bruce.

Dick could tell that he had figured out what was going on.

“Like I told Dick when he first brought this up,” Bruce said. “I’ll think about it.”

Steph looked confused, having not been there to know that Dick had already asked, but accepted Bruce’s answer.

~~~

A few hours later, Stephanie and Cass had officially been let in on the plan, and Steph had agreed to help for as long as they were in Gotham. Which led them to this.

“Please.”

“No.”

“B, come on!”

“I haven’t made a decision yet.”

“Bruce, come on, we aren’t getting any younger, and I wanna meet this amazing teacher who had the guts to point a gun at Night-freaking-wing, Red freaking Robin, and flipping Robin.”

Bruce turned. “When I decide, I will tell you. Until then, I have work to do.” He closed the doors to his office.

“Well, that could have gone better,” Dick sighed.

“He’ll come around,” Steph said.

~~~

Barbara was not amused.

“Come on, Babs,” Dick begged. “It’s just one tiny favor, then you can stay out of this, I promise!”

Barbara flicked her red hair out of her face. “No, Dick, besides, since when do I owe you a favor? Last time I checked it was you who owed me favors.”

Dick paused and thought for a moment. “Ok, true, but still, this is for a good cause. I’m asking you as a fellow hero, and your friend to help me.”

“You forgot as my ex-boyfriend,” Barbara hummed as she wheeled herself over to her computer.

“Babs,” Dick sighed.

“Fine, but I want to stay out of your plan after this,” Barbara finally relented.

“Deal,” Dick said and handed her a flash drive.

Barbara plugged it into her computer and downloaded the file.

~~~

Bruce was surprised when an email from Barbara showed up in his inbox. She never had any real reason to email him as Bruce Wayne, and anything on cases went to his batmail.

Clicking on it he found a video. Pressing play, he was greeted with a visual of Dick.

Then the music started.

After the first 30 seconds Bruce slammed the computer closed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He did not need to hear Dick sing a purposefully terrible cover of “Single Ladies” (he knew it was purposefully terrible because he’d heard Dick sing it well while taking showers after patrol).

Opening the computer again he paused the video and read the text at the bottom of the email.

_ This is only the beginning if you don’t make a decision. _

Great, now all of his kids were in on this. (If Steph knew then Cass definitely did too, it was only a matter of time until she made her move.)

~~~

Tim wandered into the Batcave, blood dripping from a wound on his head where a robber had gotten a lucky blow in with a crowbar.

He noticed Bruce sitting at the batcomputer and figured he should say something, since Dick would kill him if he didn’t attempt to get Bruce to make a decision outside of that one dinner attempt. 

“Hey B,” Tim said as he leaned against the chair.

Bruce glanced up then looked back at the computer before he must have registered Tim’s appearance, because he whipped his head back up. “Tim, are you alright?”

Tim furrowed his eyebrows before figuring out what he was talking about. “Oh, you mean my head wound? Yeah, I’m fine. Listen, I know you’ve been thinking about it already and everyone pressuring you isn’t going to do any good, but could you try to make a decision about the school soon so we can get this over with? I have more important things to be working on than helping Dick get you to decide.” Like making sure you don’t have any reason to say no, or have a reason to regret your decision.

Bruce sighed, “I’ll try, now go get cleaned up, and make sure Alfred takes a look at that wound.”

Tim nodded and did as he was told. 

(Turns out he had a minor concussion. Alfred recommended a week of bed rest, but Tim knew he’d be fine with only a day or two of it.)

~~~

“I’m going to be visiting Wilkes near Crime Alley this afternoon Father.” Damian said the next day.

Bruce raised an eyebrow, “Why near Crime Alley?”

“That’s where he goes to school,” Damian said, as though it should be obvious, which it really was if Bruce had been listening to him and his siblings at all.  
“I see,” Bruce sighed, he had enough experience at this point to know where this was going.

“You know Father,” Damian added. “If you don’t count Todd, one of Wilkes’ teachers, running into the room with gun when someone breaks in, the school has no security. We could fix that.”

Bruce opened his mouth to reply, but Damian turned and left.

~~~

Bruce entered his office and found a note on his desk. Opening it, he read the contents:  **Help them. - Cass**

~~~

Colin was there for dinner again, Bruce knew that something was going to happen.

“How’s school going Colin?” Steph asked.

“Fine,” Colin murmured.

It almost felt like he was holding something back. Tim’s head shot toward Colin, and Bruce thought he looked slightly panicked. “How are your classes going, anything interesting happen?”

Colin smiled, “Mr. Todd is having the kids from the orphanage who are literate read Gone With The Wind to the street kids who can’t read. He’s kind of ambitious when it comes to literature and our reading level. We have to get the books from the library though, because they don’t have enough money for school copies.”

“Oh really,” Dick said, casting a look towards Bruce.

Bruce sighed and stood. “I’ve decided.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one can convince me that Batmail does not exist, I mean come on guys, he has batarangs, a batmobile, batcow and a batcomputer. He's plane is even called the Batwing! (I'm probably missing a few other bat-named things.) So a batmail is very likely.


	11. Arrangements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The outlaws meet the Waynes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright 2 things:  
> 1\. I'm sorry about not posting last Friday, life happened.  
> 2\. My beta reader didn't have a chance to read through it before today so this chapter might not be as good as others.  
> 4/6/19 Edit:  
> My beta reader had a chance to read this and edit my grammar a bit. There are no major changes though.

“Jason,” Erica said. 

Jason looked up from the work sheets he was grading. “Yeah Erica?”

The red head furrowed her brows and pointed a thumb behind her towards the door. “Roy sent me. Some people showed up.”

“So?” Jason asked, figuring that if Roy was asking for him, there had to be more to it.

“They look like they’re from the good side o’ town.” Erica informed.

Jason furrowed his brows, it wasn’t often people from the ‘better’ side of Gotham came down to these areas. “Alright. I have a class in ‘bout 10 minutes. Could you stay here and tell them to head down to Kel’s class?”

Erica muttered something about not being a messenger but nodded and perched herself on top of Jason’s desk as he left.

Jason’s classroom was on the second floor on the opposite side of the building so it took him about five minutes to get to the main lobby. When he got there he saw that a crowd of both students and teachers (but mostly students) had formed around the visitors.

Peering over heads, Jason noticed that it was Bruce Wayne, his three sons, daughter, and two girls with blond and red hair. He wondered what they were doing here. Jason spotted two heads of red hair and walked over to them.

“What’s going on?” Jason asked Roy and Kori as he approached them.

“We’d like to talk to the principal.” Bruce Wayne said. Almost immediately all heads turned to Jason, Roy and Kori.

Jason looked at the other two; they hadn’t really talked about who was in charge.

Roy raised his hands. “Don’t look at me,” He said. “If anything I’m your secretary.”

“I think I would much rather prefer to be the vice-principal.” Kori stated.

Jason sighed and made his way to the front of the crowd, apparently it was up to him. “Alright,” he yelled, “Everyone head to class. There’s nothing to see here, and if anyone took something of the Wayne’s bring it to the front office after school or turn it in to your teacher this period.”

As the crowd dispersed Jason turned to the Waynes. “I guess I’m the principal, so if you’ll follow me I’ll take you somewhere we can talk privately. However I’d like to bring my secretary and the vice-principal.”

Jason vaguely heard Roy scoff disbelievingly and Bruce Wayne raised an eyebrow before nodding. Jason thought he saw Dick Grayson stifle a laugh.

Jason let Kori lead the way to a room off of the main office, inside of it was a table that covered most of the room. Everyone took a seat and there was silence for a minute. It didn’t look like anyone knew where to start.

“So, what brings you here Mr. Wayne?” Kori asked politely, the first one to break the silence.

“We were having car troubles when we noticed the building and got curious as to its purpose.” Bruce answered, “When we found out it was a school, we were quite intrigued.”

Jason furrowed his brows, thinking about how odd that was. Why would the owner of Wayne Industries be interested in a school in lower Gotham? Jason leaned back in his seat, trying to be as casual as possible while sending off silent signals to Roy and Kori that he found this suspicious. “We’re honored,” he said.

“Who exactly goes to school here?” Dick Grayson spoke up from where he was seated next to Bruce.

Roy shrugged. “Mostly kids who live on the streets, but there are also kids from some of the orphanages in the area.

“Interesting,” Bruce said, “how do you earn money to pay for everything, I take it neither the children nor the orphanages pay you?”

“We work during the night,” Jason answered tersely, this entire situation was still setting off warning signs for him.

Bruce furrowed his brows and nodded, then he thought for a moment. “Well,” he finally responded, “I would like to help out. I’ve been looking into doing more for those who are less fortunate than the people who live in upper Gotham, and I think that helping this school by providing money would be a good way to do so.”

Jason blinked. “What?”

“What Father is trying to say, is that he would like to provide your school with money.” The youngest (Damian if Jason remembered the articles he read right) of the Waynes supplied.

After a beat Kori said,“I think we need a moment to confer with each other,” That being said she, Jason, and Roy got up and walked out of the room.

As soon as the door closed Jason hissed, “This seems fishy, I mean they just show up out of the blue and suddenly want to give us charity?”

“It is a little odd,” Roy said hesitantly, “but at the same time, we do need the money Jaybird. The stuff we made when we worked in crime will only last so long, and I don’t think we’ll be able to keep up with all the payments then even with all of our night jobs.”

Kori added her own thoughts. “I agree with Roy,”

“I don’t like it,” Jason muttered.

“How about this, we will agree to let them sit in on some classes this week, perhaps you simply need to warm up to them Jason. Until friday we will not make a definitive decision” Kori compromised, “Is this deal to your liking?”

Jason sighed, “It’s the best I’m gonna get and I know it. Fine.”

They entered the room again and took their seats.

“We’ve decided that we’re gonna sit on the idea until friday, however you all are welcome to sit in on some of our classes as long as you help out with the teaching. If you truly want to help you can start there, we’re a bit short handed at the moment.” Kori told the Waynes.

Bruce looked unsure for a moment but Dick jumped in before he could say anything. “Deal.” he turned to Bruce and said, “We can help out B, I know you’re busy enough as it is, but Tim, the others and I can help out.”

Bruce looked like he was about to argue but sighed and nodded.

“Alright then,” Jason said, “Are you guys stickin’ ‘round today or does it start tomorrow?”

“I’ll stay today,” Dick said.

“As will I,” Damian answered.

“Sure,” Stephanie shrugged.

Cass shook her head no and so did Barbara.

“I wish I could, but I have some important WE projects to take care of.” Tim added.

“Alright then, I’ll take Grayson. Roy, Kori, you decide what to do with the other two.” Jason grunted and got up heading toward the exit. Dick followed him.

This would be an interesting week.


	12. Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kinda filler before things start to go down. Also, Jaydick bonding

“Alright class,” Jason said as he entered the room. “Today we have a guest who’ll be sitting in on class. If any of you are uncomfortable with his presence here let me know and I will immediately remove him from the room. Everyone, please meet Dick Grayson.”

Dick entered the room and every eye was instantly on him, sizing him up. It reminded him of the looks he got at charity events when Bruce had first adopted him. Though these were far less judging, in fact they were more wary than anything else.

“Hi,” Dick tried with a small smile and a wave.

He got no reactions, other than Jason rolling his eyes. The man seemed far less suspicious than when he’d been in that room with everyone else. Granted, unlike there, Jason and his students outnumbered Dick.

“Anyway, how’s the reading going for all of you?” Jason asked and almost all of the students groaned, aside from one girl who’s hand shot up immediately. 

“Yes Delilah?” Jason asked.

“It’s really interesting.” Delilah said, and the girl next to her snorted.

“That’s because you’re a nerd, Lilah.”

Before Delilah could say anything Jason interrupted. "That wasn’t very nice Thalia, even if she is your sister. Apologise.”

Thalia grumbled something before finally saying sorry.

Dick watched this interaction in mild amusement. Then someone called out, “Have you ever read Gone With the Wind Mr. Grayson?”

Dick smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “I tried once.” He admitted, “But I wasn’t really into it, my brother Tim probably has though. Also, please call me Dick, Mr. Grayson makes me feel old.”

“If you don’t like to read then why are you here?” One of the kids asked.

Dick opened his mouth to reply and then closed it, realizing there was no good way to answer that question. He figured Jason wouldn’t want the students to know about their deal. (Not that Colin wouldn’t find out about it from Damian later, but still.)

“Let’s get back on track.” Jason interrupted. Dick was thankful for the save, unintentional or not (he couldn’t tell).

It didn’t take much for Jason to redirect the students' attention to the lesson and the rest of the period went on without a hitch. Dick spent most of the time just watching Jason interact with the students and had to admit that he was really good with kids.

Dick noticed that Jason treated them not like they were too young to understand things, but like they were equals. He remembered how that was all he wanted when he was younger, not to be patronized by people.

He knew that he shouldn’t be comparing himself to these kids, they lived on the streets and had seen plenty of horrors in their lives. It would be terrible to treat them like they were any ordinary children, like their entire lives hadn’t done things to their mind. Dick bet that they’d seen things that would make most adults go insane.

Looking at Jason he was suddenly struck with the sudden realization that he’d gone through the same thing as the students. He’d been aware of that fact since he’d met the man, but now it hit him like a truck.

“Grayson."

Dick blinked, coming back to reality. Jason was standing in front of him, brows furrowed.

“Huh?” Dick said intelligently. He noticed that the room was now empty aside from the two of them.

Jason’s eyes narrowed. “You’re pitying us.” He stated matter of factly.

“No I’m not.” Dick denied.

“Yes you are. You zoned out for, like, the last ten minutes of class.” Jason said, “Look, we ain’t any different from you or your brothers. Don’t think about where we live, just think of us as people. ‘Cause if there’s one thing those kids hate more than anything, it’s being treated differently because of how they live. Same goes for me.”   

Dick nodded and sighed, “I know, I know. I just… I guess the living situations of you all just hit me all of a sudden. And I hate myself for even thinking any different of you all for your pasts. I know what it’s like to be judged because of where I come from.”

Really?” Jason asked, taking a seat in one of the desk chairs.

Dick took that as his cue to sit too. “Yeah, I was raised in a circus -- in case you somehow missed the first few years I was adopted by Bruce. It was all anyone could talk about back then. Of course that was before I revealed how fabulous I am.”

Jason snorted. “Yeah, fabulous. That’s  _ definitely  _ how I’d describe you.” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Dick tilted his head to the side curiously and asked, “How would you describe me then?”

Jason opened his mouth to reply and then paused. He glanced at Dick and then shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know you well enough to say.”

Dick smiled. It wasn’t something positive, but it also wasn’t negative. So he’d take that as a good sign.

This was progress, and progress was good.


	13. Threats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim does some investigating and comes across Roy and some gang members in an alley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I know, I'm really, really late updating, and for that I apologise. Due to my inability to update on time recently I've decided to change my updating schedule to every other week and I'll always update on either fridays or sometime during the week end. Again, I am sorry.

Tim knew he’d promised Kon and Bart that they could help him with this case, but he couldn’t wait for them to show up every night. Besides, they had their own hero things to do. They’d understand if he went out for just one night by himself.

That thought in mind, Red Robin set off for the night, running along the rooftops of Gotham.

It was a long way from his apartment to the area that Outlaw Academy was in  _ and _ Tim stopped five crimes along the way, so it took him about two hours to get to the school.

He did a quick patrol around the area to make sure there was nothing going on at the moment before he made his way to a building a few blocks away from the school.

If his intel was correct then it should be the “base” for the O’Malley gang. Base being used loosely because really it was just the gang leader, William O’Malley’s apartment.

Tim landed silently on the roof of the building, trying to remember which floor the apartment was on. The Gotham sky was clear of smog for once and there was a slight breeze in the air which made it harder for Tim to get himself to a third floor window.

Thankfully it had been left open, William O’Malley clearly not thinking about possible burglaries. Or maybe he was home, but hopefully that wasn’t the case.

He should be out on business tonight, one of Tim’s most reliable sources had said that there was going to be a big drug deal going on tonight (which Tim planned on busting when he was done at the apartment).

Once Tim was inside he did a quick once over of the room to make sure that there were no lights on. There weren’t. He had entered through the window in the living room of the apartment, which contained a beer stained coach, a paper covered coffee table and an old-fashioned television.

Tim made his way over to the table, and sifted through the papers to see if what he was looking for was in the mess or somewhere else.

There were papers for drug deals, clients, and a list of all the gang members, however as tempting as it was to take all of these they weren’t what Tim was looking for, and if William came home with a half of his documents missing he’d surely know that something was wrong. Finally Tim pinpointed the paper he was looking for.

Taking it from the pile he did his best to put the rest of the papers back in their original places and then hightailed it out of the apartment and to the drug deal going on that night.

~~~

Tim was beginning to think that maybe he should have taken Alfred’s advice about his concussion. After all, the fact that he only had minor injuries and hadn’t hit his head that night, yet was staggering along the rooftops after busting the deal was probably not good.

He was about to jump another roof when he heard a scuffle going on in the alley between the next building and the one he was on.

Tim stood on the edge of the building and looked down.

Two men in leather jackets had an unmistakable redhead pinned against the wall to the building opposite of Tim.

Roy Harper was doing his best to stay calm and get out of the situation. “Hey, um, I don’t know what I did, but whatever it was I’m really really sorry for doing it. Can I go now?”

“We heard Wayne and ‘is gaggle o’ orphans showed up at yer school, Harper.” One of the guys said. “Dat true?”

Tim grit his teeth at how he referenced him and his brothers, deciding to refer to them as Thug #1 and Thug #2 in his head as silent retaliation.

Roy hesitated before answering, “Yeah.”

“Miss Shade don’ like dat.” Thug #2 told Roy.

Tim’s eyes widened, Miss Shade was what the members of the Jaded Crows, the other gang in the brewing gang war, called their leader.

“We had a deal Harper, don’ tell us y’all are breakin’ da conditions Hood, ‘Fire, and Arrow set up.” Thug #1 said. “‘Cause if ya are then we’ll have ta put a stop to yer little learnin’ center or whatever, maybe even yer lives.”

Tim had no idea who Hood, Fire, or Arrow were.

Thug #2 mumbled something along the lines of “I never liked school anyway.”

Roy seemed to have enough because he suddenly blurted out, “That’s bull, the terms of the agreement were that we stayed out of vigilante business, there was never anything about the Waynes or anyone other than the bats!”

Thug #1 held up a fist and shook it threateningly. “Watch yer mouth Harper, we got the power here.”

Tim decided to step in, but waited a second to make it seem like he had just arrived. He had just heard Roy say that the school’s fate hinged on them not being connected to the bats, a coincidental save was as much as Tim could let them think this was.

He landed heavily, and when the guys turned around Tim punched Thug #1 in the face, making him fall to the ground unconscious. It felt satisfying considering what he’d said about Tim’s family earlier.

A sharp punch to the stomach made Tim’s dizziness come back and he stumbled before swinging out with his bo staff, flinging Thug #2 into the wall. He too slumped down unconscious.

Tim turned to Roy who looked startled by his appearance and motioned for him to follow Tim before making his way out of the alley, using his bo staff as an anchor. He vaguely heard footsteps behind him and knew Roy was following him.

“Um, are you okay, Red Robin?” Roy asked eventually.

“Yeah,” Tim said and stopped using his bo staff as support, collapsing it. He turned to Roy and asked, “What did those guys want with you?”

“The Wayne family showed up at our school today, news spreads fast around here so every gang probably knows about it already and aren’t happy about it.” Roy answered, only pausing for less than a second before answering.

Tim nodded, having figured as much, before he asked, “They mentioned people called Hood, Fire, and Arrow. Who are they?”

This time Roy hesitated for a full minute before sighing. “Jason, Kori and I use code names when we have to meet up with anyone in gangs and stuff so that they don’t know who we are. We even have specific outfits for it too, you could say it’s like our vigilante cover like how you’re Red Robin so no one knows who you are. Jason goes by the alias Red Hood, Kori is Starfire, and I go by Red Arrow.

“No one knows that the people who run the school are Red Hood, Starfire and Red Arrow except us and, I guess, now you. All the gangs and villains just think we’re friends with them.”

Tim nodded, it was a smart move on their part. “Alright, well I should really be going now.” He pulled out his grappling hook, but before he left he added, “Oh, and Roy, don’t listen to them. If you want the Waynes’ help then take it. I can take care of any trouble that comes the school’s way without making it seem like I know specifically what’s going on. Maybe don’t tell Jason about this either, keep it between us.”

He took off before Roy could reply.

Tim sighed wearily when he landed on the roof top and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the tension there. It would probably be best if he called it a night, he thought just before a car alarm went off nearby.

Yeah, that thought was laughable.


	14. Here comes trouble, and make it double

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More threats are made and Erica has a choice to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask me why that's the title of this chapter, seriously don't. I was in a Team Rocket reference mood ok?

Erica didn’t know what she had expected when she had saved James from some terrible fate at the hands of the O’Malley gang, but it certainly wasn’t for him to suddenly be attached to her hip.

Still, she could say that she had grown fond of him over the past month, if only because his constant ranting of meaningless topics kept her from thinking about her own terrible life. But she wouldn't.

So when he didn’t greet her when she first walked into the building that morning, Erica  _ could _ admit that she was a little worried about him, but she wouldn’t.

Figuring that he either wasn’t there yet or had went to class without her, Erica headed to first period, Kori’s science class, instead of sticking around to see if he came. James would surely tease her relentlessly if he found out she waited.

First period went by uneventfully, but that was mostly because James still wasn’t there, his empty seat a silent, but looming torture to Erica. She would admit now that she was worried, and her mind was immediately jumping to the worst possible answer to why James wasn’t here.

After class Kori called Erica to her desk.

“Yeah, Kori?” Erica asked.

“Erica, do you know where James is?” Kori got right to the point.

Erica shook her head in the negative.

“I see, well then you should get to class. It is quite odd for him to skip though. If you do see James at some point, please tell him I’d like to see him at the end of the day.” Kori said before looking down at some paperwork on her desk.

Erica knew this to be her dismissal. Kori could be a talker when she wanted to be, but when it came to class and school she got straight to the heart of the matter, no beating around the bush, and after class conversations always went quickly because she had another class to teach and the student had one to get to.

As she exited the classroom Erica bit her nail, a nervous habit of hers. She couldn’t help but glare at everyone in her way without the sunny presence of her “friend” (as he insisted that he was, she wasn’t so sure.) at her side.

Honestly, it was amazing that James was secretly nice, considering that he’d been kind of a jerk to her until she saved his butt, however Erica couldn’t say she didn’t understand the walls he put up to protect himself. 

That was how you survived; you put up walls and didn’t let anyone pass them unless you had complete and utter trust in them. It scared Erica a little, knowing that James trusted her like that. But she wouldn’t betray that trust, not like she had with  _ him _ .

Someone tapped on her shoulder and Erica turned around, a snarl falling from her lips. It was Gregory Smith, a known member of the Jaded Crows.

“What do you want, Smith?” Erica asked snappishly.

Gregory smiled lazily. “Now now  _ Er _ , I have a deal to offer you.”

Erica bristled at the use of James’s nickname for her. “And what would that be?”

“You haven’t been handing over any o’ the payment you owe Miss Shade, and she hasn’t been too happy about that.” Gregory answered, “But she’s willing to overlook things just this once if you deliver at least half of it by this friday.”

“And if I don’t?” Erica questioned.

“Well, you can say goodbye to your… friend.” 

Erica froze, her eyes widening.

Gregory patted her on the shoulder and walked by, his parting words being, “You think about it.”

Erica was left with only one thought running through her mind:  _ They have James _ .

~~~

When Friday rolled in, Erica found herself entering one of the many bars in the Jaded Crows’ territory. She knows she could have tried telling Jason, Roy, or Kori but she didn’t want to risk James’ safety even more.

There were only ten other people in the bar, the bartender, who was paid handsomely to overlook all gang activity, some trusted gang members, and a pale woman seated at the bar. Miss Shade.

Erica took a deep breathe and approached her. “I brought the money.” She said.

Miss Shade turned around, her blue eyes staring at Erica. “Good,” she said. “Now hand it over.”

Erica’s grip on the envelope in her hand tightened. “First, I need to see James. How do I know he’s even still alive?”

“I don’t go back on my word sweetie, you’ll see him in due time. Now hand it over.” Miss Shade answered, her voice more commanding.

Erica hesitated, if they figured it out before giving James back… but if she didn’t hand it over now she wouldn’t get James back at all. Sighing, she held the money out to Miss Shade.

One of the members next to her took the money himself and flicked through it, counting every dollar. He leaned over and whispered something in Miss Shade’s ear.

Whatever he said made her lips curl into a sneer. “I’m not stupid,” she said to Erica, voice low. “Did you really think we’d fall for counterfeit money?”

_ Damn it.  _

“Someone take her to the cellar.” Miss Shade ordered and two of the gang members behind Erica grabbed her by the arms and hauled her into the back area of the bar.

She struggled but couldn’t get out of their grips. When they through her down a flight of stairs, closing the trap door behind her, Erica fell on her face and scraped her elbows and knees.

She hissed in pain and sat up, hair dangling in her face.

“That looked like it hurt.” A familiar voice said.


	15. Missing In Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> News spreads fast, hopefully it gets to the right ears in time.

After being stuck with Dick Grayson for a whole week it was odd to have a class without him. The plan to meet on friday had had to be postponed due to an Arkham breakout (thankfully  _ he  _ hadn’t gotten out.) and they were now set to meet on the Friday of this week.

He had been planning on asking Dick if he’d want to stick around in a few classes even after the deal was fulfilled on friday but that had not occured as Dick found an excuse to leave shortly after the breakout was announced. So now Jason was left in class without the assistant he’d had the past week.

It was oddly lonely without the other male, even with the students. The school day was half way over when Thalia approached him, almost nervously, which was odd seeing as none of the kids had shown this kind of fear while in school for months.

“Can I help you Thalia?” Jason asked softly.

Thalia bit her lip, which was unlike the bold, confident girl. “I… I need your help Jason.”

Jason raised an eyebrow and questioned, “What can I do?”

“Can… can you get a message to Hood, Arrow, and Starfire?” She asked.

Jason knew that his, Roy, and Kori’s code names were well known in gangs and to the homeless, but he’d never been asked to give a message, so the question came as a shock to him.

“What should I tell them?” He asked.

“‘L-Lilah… The Jaded Crows took her.” Thalia answered quietly, as if afraid someone might overhear, which in all honestly might have been the case. If one of the gang members overheard the conversation there would be hell to pay for Thalia outside of school.

Jason gripped the edges of his desk. “What would they want with your sister?”

“Everyone on the streets knows that the Crows run a human trafficking business,” Thalia said, “I’m actually surprised you haven’t heard about it before.”

He had heard of it in passing but figured that the bats would take care of it eventually. They probably would, but that wouldn’t stop the Jaded Crows from selling people like goods until then, including Delilah.

“I’ll pass the message along,” Jason told Thalia and her shoulders sagged in relief.

Thalia nodded and started to leave but paused in the doorway. “I also heard a rumor that Erica and James are being held captive by the Jaded Crows, something about Erica owing them money. They probably won’t put them on the market until they get desperate though.”

Jason nodded, wondering how he’d missed the fact that three of his students were missing. “Thank you Thalia, I’ll tell the Red Hood, Red Arrow and Starfire. We’ll get your sister, Erica and James back, I promise.”

Thalia smiled sadly. “You’re a good guy Jason, but don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

She left before Jason could reply, though he didn’t know what he would have said. She was right after all.

~~~

After Jason had shared the information Thalia had given him with Kori and Roy, they talked about what they should do. As Red Hood, Red Arrow, and Starfire they could help, but that might put the school in danger.

Roy almost told them about what had happened the week before but didn’t, Red Robin’s words coming back to him. Instead he convinced them to wait for a little bit to see if the bats did anything.

After their meeting Roy went to his classroom and pulled out his phone. He and Red Robin had met up once since their first encounter and the hero had given Roy a number to his burner phone, only to be used in emergencies, he had said.

Roy was pretty sure this counted as an emergency.


	16. Do Me A Favor... Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor just wants Tim to be as safe as their lives will allow, so of course something goes wrong.

Connor wished Tim would let the other Bats help, or at least keep his promise to Bart and him about letting them help. But so far Tim had remained stubborn in doing this on his own.

Connor just didn’t understand  _ why _ Tim wouldn’t let anyone help. Sure he had always been rather cautious when it came to the Titans helping with any cases in Gotham, but he’d always let another Bat help on the case as long as Connor had pushed him hard enough.

It had something to do with a school in the area, Connor remembered Tim telling him after he’d asked repeatedly, but Connor didn’t understand what a school had to do with Tim risking his life  _ alone  _ trying to stop a drug cartel and human trafficking trade from fighting over the same area. 

So when he had finally convinced Tim to take a break for a night, you could imagine how unhappy he was when the night off was interrupted by a phone call.

Connor groaned and paused the rerun of Wendy the Werewolf Hunter he was making Tim watch (again). “Duuude, this is the best part!”

“You say that about every part Kon.” Tim stated before picking up the call, Connor noted that it was the phone he used for Red Robin stuff. “Hello?”

There was a minute of pause and then Tim was sitting up, more alert than he had been all night. Connor didn’t like it.

“Slow down Roy,” Tim said, “I can’t understand what you’re saying when you talk that fast.”

“Some of our students have been kidnapped. One of them has a sister who told us about her sibling. The other two are only rumoured to have been kidnapped, but I’d be grateful if you could help us out,” Connor heard someone say on the other side of the line. 

Tim would probably kill Connor if he knew he was eavesdropping.

Tim glanced at Connor before sighing, “Yeah, I’ll be over as soon as possible Roy. How about we meet up a block or two from the school, Batman has a safe house there. You can give me more details then.”

There was a moment of silence before Roy answered. “Yeah, alright, see you there.”

Tim hung up and looked at Connor. From his eyes Connor knew that Tim knew he wasn’t going to make escape easy.

“So,” Tim started. “I need to go.”

Connor pouted, trying to pretend like he didn’t know what this was about. “But you already promised me you’d take the night off.”

“I know Kon.” Tim sighed, “but something big came up. There are some kids who have been kidnapped and this can’t wait.”

“Does this have anything to do with that school?” Connor asked. He knew it did, having heard Roy refer to the kids as students, but he needed Tim to be honest with him without Connor having to force it out of him. He needed to know Tim trusted him with this; it was stupid, but it was important to him.

Tim hesitated before nodding.

Connor wanted to protest more, to say that this wasn’t Tim’s problem, not right now. That he could tell Dick about the missing kids without getting him caught up in the case. But, he’d gotten what he’d wanted hadn’t he? (No, he hadn’t.) He didn’t really think he could convince Tim to stay anyway, not with something like this.

It was something Connor loved and hated about Tim: he always put the job first.

“Fine,” Connor relented. “Just, do me a favor Tim. Stay safe… please.”

Tim hesitated once more, and Connor knew he was asking a lot, considering their line of work, but it was just for one night. 

“I’ll try.” Tim compromised, “I’ll even call you as soon as I’m done tonight.”

And that was good enough for Connor. He motioned to the door, signalling that Tim had his permission to leave, not that he needed it.

Tim gave him a grateful look, because he might not need it but he wanted Connor’s permission, before he got up and left.

~~~

Connor had been antsy all day. It was 12:00 in the afternoon and Tim still hadn’t called.  _ Maybe he forgot _ , Connor tried to rationalise,  _ or fell asleep right after getting to his apartment, he does that sometimes. _

Suddenly his phone went off and Connor lunged to check the caller ID.

It was Dick, and something in Connor’s heart sank. He had a bad feeling.

Picking it up, he asked, “Hello?”

“Hey,” Dick said, worry edging into his voice. “Have you seen Tim? He’s not at his apartment and no one has seen him since he left to hang out with you.”

Connor stared at the wall in front of him. Something had happened, and it wasn’t good.


	17. Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part 1 of what happened to Tim after he left.

Roy was already waiting for Tim when he arrived at the place they agreed to meet.

“Tell me what you know,” Tim said as soon as he touched the ground. He wanted to get this over with quickly so he could retire for the night.

Roy started slightly and turned around. In retrospect, maybe landing behind him hadn’t been the best idea.

“Jesus,” Roy sighed upon seeing who it was. “Don’t scare me like that.”

“Sorry,” Tim answered. “Now, what do you know?”

“Not much,” Roy replied. “Just that a girl named Delilah was kidnapped by a gang called the Jaded Crows and that there are rumours going around that two of our other students, Erica and James, have also been kidnapped. The Jaded Crows have been running a human trafficking business for a while now, we never did anything because we thought you bats would handle it.”

Tim nodded, because that was an issue that they would sometimes deal with, though more often than not they left the police with tips to cases like that. It was strange, however, how the Jaded Crows had managed to slip under their radar for so long. Tim himself had only been made aware of it recently and the others still didn’t know.

He planned to keep it that way, with the meeting between the school and the Waynes postponed there was still time for Bruce to change his mind. 

Nevertheless, it was still concerning and Tim made a mental note to do some digging on that matter later.

“Alright, do you have any idea where they would be keeping them?” Tim asked.

Roy shrugged. “There are a few places known to be a base of operations for the Jaded Crows. It could be any of them.”

Tim sighed, “Alright, just give list them off to me.”

Roy did as he was told.

“There are a bunch of bars in their territory, but I’m not sure if they’d keep anyone there or not,” he finished.

Tim nodded. “Alright, I’ll check those last then.”

“Hey,” Roy suddenly said before Tim could leave. “Are the other bats working on this?”

Tim shook his head. “No, I haven’t said a word about this to anyone.”

Roy cocked his head to the side, expression nothing but curious. “Why? Won’t you get in trouble or something?”

Tim hesitated before answering, “I have my reasons, nothing I can tell you though.”

Roy nodded slowly. “Riiight. Well, if you really think you can handle this mess on your own I won’t judge. But this is about my students' safety dude, can you guarantee you’ll get them back if you’re on your own?”

Tim gave him a look. “You know that even if I had all the bats helping me I couldn’t guarantee you anything Roy. Now I have to go if you want this done tonight.”

“Yeah, of course, I have to get to work anyway.” Roy excused himself and left.

Tim let out a weary breath. Roy had listed at least 10 places, so he had to get started as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter didn't get out on time. I'm going through a nasty case of writers block with this story, and even when I sat down to write it I wasn't really in the mood to write so this might not be my best chapter. That being said, I don't know when the next chapter will be out because of this writers block but I'll try to get it out as soon as possible.


	18. "Some Rescue Mission"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of what happened to Tim after he left.

Almost none of the locations had been helpful for Tim. They hadn’t been fruitless as he’d found and busted multiple human trafficking locations, but he’d only found one of the teens he was supposed to be looking for, Delilah.

As the warehouses had proven to be a failed attempt at finding Erica and James, Tim decided he would move on to the bars within the Jaded Crows’ territory. He had about two hours until the sun rose and no clue where to even start his search, which wasn’t a good sign for him. 

It was only because of a lucky break that he was able to find where Roy, Jason and Kori’s other two students were.

He was sitting on a rooftop with his head in his hands, trying to will the pounding in his head away in a few quick minutes, when he heard a group of people walking by below him.

Quickly drawing his feet up and away from the ledge Tim leaned over quickly to see five people, four men and a woman. Each was dressed in tight, dark clothing.

“So, wadda ya think Miss Shade’ll do ta those kids we got locked up in the Over Hang?” Tim heard one of the men ask.

“She’ll probably try ta get the girly ta hand over dat money she owes Miss Shade. But if dat don’t work out, well, I think it’s safe ta say they’ll both go to some lovely people who’ll pay off da debt for her,” The woman of the group answered with a flick of her auburn hair.

Tim pulled himself away from the ledge and got up to pace while he thought. There was no guarantee that they were talking about Erica and James, but how many kids could they have kidnapped that owed them money? And even if it wasn’t the students he was looking for they might have an idea as to where the Jaded Crows were keeping Erica and James. 

So Tim decided that his best bet was to find the Over Hang.

It took a lot less time to find the Over Hang than Tim thought it would. The fluorescent lights that lit up the bar’s sign made its name hard to miss, and even from across the street Tim could see the gang members entering and exiting the building.

He grappled to a building on the same side of the street as the Over Hang, stumbling as he landed.

The symptoms of his concussion had gone down the past few days, but still made appearances in sudden bursts, whether it was dizziness or a slower reaction time for a period of time. Whatever symptom showed up, it was most certainly not wanted when he was doing work as Red Robin.

He waited for a minute for the burst of dizziness to pass and then made his way across the roofs until he was on top of the Over Hang. Analyzing the floor -- well, he supposed it was a floor to him anyway -- Tim noticed a latch and tested to see if it’s locked.

It was, he saw as the latch lifts out towards him a crack before the chains tighten and he couldn’t open it any more. Though, the gap was big enough for him to fit his arm through.

Hoping he could pick the lock without looking at it, Tim grabbed his lock pick and stuck his arm through the open space. He felt the air for a moment before he found the lock, and another minute saw him doing his best to pick the lock while unable to see it.

It took Tim seven minutes to pick the lock, but considering the angle he was working with and other factors, he considered that a job well done. Finally, the lock opened and fell to the floor below with a dull  _ thud _ .

Opening the latch fully, Tim slipped inside, leaving it open for a quick and easy escape. Looking around, Tim found that he was in a storage room at the back of the bar. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with boxes containing different kinds of alcoholic beverages.

He could hear the noises of chattering people and laughter from a room down the hall in front of him. However, to his left was a wooden door, and when Tim put his ear up to it he couldn’t hear anything from inside. Jiggling the doorknob he found that it was locked.

He pulled out his lock pick again and fiddled with the lock until he heard a soft click. He opened the door, revealing a staircase heading downward, but stopped himself from heading inside when he heard footsteps behind him.

Whirling around Tim took out his bo staff and found himself staring at two burly men and a woman.

“Well,” the woman said, a carefree lilt to her voice. “Red Robin, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Can I be of any assistance?”

Tim narrowed his eyes at the woman suspiciously and didn’t move from his defensive position. “No, I was just looking around. I’ll be on my way soon enough.”

“And what, pray tell, were you looking for?” she asked.

“Nothing much,” Tim replied nonchalantly. “Just a good bottle of wine. I heard the basement is where you keep the goods.”

The woman’s eyes hardened, as if she could see straight through Tim and his lies. He had his doubts on that, but knew she knew he wasn’t there for what he said he was.

“I don’t think that’s the case. Red Robin, you’re here for my future merchandise aren’t you?”

Tim knew there was no good way to talk himself out of this situation, and so he went with his instincts. Swinging out with his staff, Tim jumped forward and kicked one of the men on the woman’s sides to the ground.

She sighed, “I was so hoping I wouldn’t have to do this. Having vigilante attention is such a hassle, but so be it. Rich, Dan, put him with Erica and James. Make sure you confiscate his weaponry, but leave the cowl, I do so love a mystery.”

The man who was knocked to the floor got up and hurled himself at Tim, who ducked out of the way and made to punch him in the gut, but he was grabbed by the other man and pulled back.

Bringing his head forward first, Tim threw his head back, connecting with the other man’s face and causing him to stumble backwards. Unfortunately the action had consequences on Tim as well, and his vision blacked out for a second before returning in  dots.

The man holding him tightened his grip on Tim and yelled, “Damn it Rich, knock this kid out already!”

The momentary blindness had let Rich ready himself and by the time Tim’s vision had come back to him fully he couldn’t react fast enough to avoid the fist coming toward his face. His vision went black again, and he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he should have listened to Alfred about his concussion.

~~~

When Tim woke up he was in the basement. Feeling his body he found that he’d been stripped of his weapons and his boots.

“Welcome to the land of the living.” A girl’s voice said and Tim looked to his right, finding a red headed girl sitting in the corner, next to a boy with black hair.

“Erica and James?” Tim guessed.

The girl nodded, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Your teacher, Roy Harper, he sent me here to rescue you.”

James snorted, “Some rescue mission.”

Tim stood up, only to be hit by a wave of dizziness and fell back down to the ground immediately with a heavy impact.

Erica approached his crumpled form on the ground as Tim gripped at his head, which was throbbing in pain. It seemed the concussion symptoms had come back harder than before. 

Erica kicked him in the side lightly and asked, “Hey, you good Red Robin?”

He didn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that break lasted longer than even I anticipated it would, and I'm sorry for leaving you guys with this unfinished story like that, I know how much it sucks. But I am back, though I don't know what my posting schedule will look like. I will get back to you on it as soon as I can. For now, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter.


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